Friday, 26 February 2010

Okay, so life has been pretty hectic for me this week, between doing uni work, doing actual work and trying to fit in what I enjoy doing around those two things.

Somewhere along the line I have managed to make one of the first pieces of clothing in what I like to think of as my s/s line (it's not really, it's just a few summery pieces of clothing that I have managed to think up and would like to get around to making at some point). So, in celebration of my actually acheiving doing something productive with my time, I thought I'd upload a couple of pics of the dress in question.

The pictures aren't that good because:1, I'm in them, and2, they were taken with my phone because I'm not, as of yet, an owner of a decent camera.

Oh yeah, and please excuse my hideous VPL in the picture of the back of the dress - I wasn't wearing the right underwear for this impromptu photoshoot.

Monday, 22 February 2010

As usual, one of the hot topics that springs to mind during Fashion Week is that of what are generically referred to as 'real' size models and the obsession with thin. In today's issue of the Daily Mail, there was an article by Lucy Ballinger about the designer Mark Fast and his use of several normal sized women to model his collection, including British model Hayley Moriey. It is refreshing to see a designer who will consciously, and confidently, use women of all sizes to model in their show and not just follow the heard and use the traditional thin crowd of models. Although I don't think that thinner models should be discriminated against either, to have the wide variety of shapes and sizes that the female body comes in represented on the catwalk is inspiring - especially in a far more positive way than only using skinny models.

Speaking as an average size ten (who luckily has the metabolism that digests all the crap I eat without needing to go to the gym), even I have had a few problems with my weight during my adolescence and I'm not even overweight. I am a healthy human being, but I never looked at myself that way whilst flicking through the pages of magazines, or watching the various modelling shows on telly filled with tiny women of half my weight. It doesn't set a good body image for young girls, and instead pushes them too hard to be something they're not. Yes, fashion may look good on the ultra skinny, but some of it can equally look disturbing when all you can see is portruding bones and angles.

Therefore, I can only conclude that fashion is what you make it, and if you're a good fashion designer, then your clothes should look good on everyone. And if that's the case, why isn't everyone represented on the catwalk?

Sunday, 21 February 2010

I was just going through the pictures of the various fashion weeks from around the world on vogue.co.uk (because I can't get close enough to the catwalks in real life) and it seems like A/W 2010 is going to be fairly bleak. The first thing that hit me was that many of the designers would appear to have gone down the 'black is the new black' approach, from Acne at London fashion week through to Cynthia Rowley at New York fashion week. However, although black may be the staple colour at many of the catwalks, the sombre tone has been shot through with bright blues, yellows and reds to give a bit of life to the A/W scene. Red and yellow shoes especially have made it onto the runway at the likes of Alexander Wang, Cynthia Rowley and Holly Fulton. Metallic effects too have appeared on a fair few of the catwalks, along with bright and bold prints (from the floral, to the optic to the symmetrical). So far, my favourite look picked off the catwalk is the deconstructed tailoring of both Marc Jacobs ready-to-wear line and Rag and Bone because it looks classy, but has an edge that also makes it daring.

Thursday, 18 February 2010

Hey, I haven't written on here in a while because I've been away to somewhere with more or less no internet access and no internet cafes - yes, it was rather remote.

Anyway, moving on to bigger, but not necessarily brighter, things. I've read a few articles recently (in Grazia, The Evening Standard and was it maybe Glamour?) about young girls and the over exposure to overtly sexual clothing and makeup, with one particular example popping up in all of them - Miley Cyrus' little sister. Honestly, when I read the first one I can't say I was overly bothered. I mean, what little girl doesn't like dressing up and playing with makeup? But after reading a few articles on the subject, and then witnessing a really bad case of the overly sexual ten year olds in real life, the message hit home. What the hell are little girls doing wearing a face full of almost perfectly applied make up and clothes that I (an 18 year old woman) would wear to a club? Hello, are they looking for sleazy old men to check them out? I don't think so somehow.

Although several of the articles placed a lot of blame on the fashion industry for the influx of sexuality in children's clothing, I don't think all the heat should be applied in that direction. A big chunk of the blame should also be thrown at mothers who let their children out of the house looking like eight year old hookers. I really don't understand what must possess a mother to buy tiny skirts and sexy over-the-knee socks for their children, because surely most ten year olds don't have enough money to go out any buy those clothes for themselves?

Now, I don't have any children, but I have several young cousins all of whom I love to pieces, and I would be so shocked if I saw them go out dressed how some children are. Why can't we just keep the innocence of youth and dress little girls in cute flowery tea dresses and cardigans the way it was meant to be, instead of letting them roam the streets looking like minature twenty year olds out on the pull.

Sorry this is such a long post, but I thought I'd like to have a little rant.

Thursday, 11 February 2010

Today Alexander McQueen was found dead in his London apartment. What a sad day for the fashion world. A talented and coveted designer he was one of London's most desirable artists and now he's gone. He was one of my favourite designers and it's so sad that he is dead. I'm so sorry for his family as they have had to deal with two deaths in such a short time.

There's this girl at my uni whose dress sense I absolutely want to steal. She has such a unique sense of style that suits her down to the ground and I wish I had her wardrobe. Except for the white tights with brogues and her cropped trousers. I'm not too keen on the white socks and trousers look... It's a bit too preppy for me.

Monday, 8 February 2010

My main aim in life is to open my own boutique selling a mixture of my own creations and a few other designer's pieces. As such, I've been designing and making clothes for aas long as I can remember; although ny first few designs/projects at the tender age of seven probably weren't the stuff of catwalks... This summer I want to make a whole line of quite structured clothing, contrasting the close fit and some harsh lines with soft fabrics and girly prints. I've been looking online for some inspiration for fabric prints and this is the tpye of look I'm going for...

Saturday, 6 February 2010

I was having a conversation with my fiance and Dad the other day about fashion shows. Neither of them can understand why the catwalk is the hot bed for trends when a lot of the outfits are quite outlandish. I replied to this by saying that the reason catwalk shows are so amazing is BECAUSE they're so out there. Most people do not look at what is on the runway and think 'yes, I must go out right now and buy the gigantic crystal-studded shoulder pads by Manish Arora and wear it into the office'. But that is the whole point. Catwalks are for show - they are where art is created and performed. Many catwalk shows are a gallery for artists to exhibit their work, and as far as I'm concerned, this is exactly how it should be. Zany outfits in a fashion shoot aren't necessarily designed to be every-day-wear but it is still the place where the high street trends are set. For example, there were a lot of bright tribal and almost cyber prints showcased for 2010s s/s collection, and as a result, bold prints have hit the high street with a vengeance. So, feel free to oggle at what's on the catwalk and appreciate it for what it is - a work of art that will slowly influence the way you dress yourself.

Thursday, 4 February 2010

I was in Lakeside shopping centre yesterday and I noticed just how many girls (and even guys actually) were wearing the type of flat, lace up ex-military or even victoriana boots that come from shops like All Saints. In fact, it's not even just girls from Romford out that are wearing them, even wandering around my uni campus and the centre of London the last few days I saw loads of girls sporting the look along with cute little dresses or distressed looking jeans. Personally, I've always loved those type of boots - they really do look good with loads of outfits - but recently I've developed more of a penchant for Doctor Martens. They're tougher looking and more hard wearing, and who doesn't want a pair of boots that you can get in almost any colour under the sun? I'm aiming to buy a pair of patent red ones next...

Monday, 1 February 2010

Hmm, in the Evening Standard today there was a whole article on the trend that is called 'Steampunk' which I thought was very interesting. Steampunk is the new victorian based trend that has taken the world in its firm industrially revolutionalised grip and involves everything that is tweed, dapper and optimistic. Although it's more of a life-style based movement than simply a fashion movement, it has a distinctly British air that I think fits the current climate. In light of this new trend I have to say that I am all for it. Bring on the impossibly complex dresses, austere tailoring and preppy tweed. To hell with tracksuit bottoms and sloppy t-shirts, I want my dress to take a day to put on and five to take off, have floor sweeping hems and wear cute little ornaments in my up-swept hair. Granted, only rich people dressed like this in the actual Victorian era, but hey, in this modern day and age you can get away with wearing almost anything. So, like I already said, bring it on!